Job Role Analysis – IT Sales / Business Development IT

Ever wondered, how IT companies keep on getting business? well, read on this article about IT Sales/Business Development IT professionals, who work to make the IT industry as lucrative as it sounds.

What is it?

IT companies are of two types 1) Product based 2) Service based. Product based IT companies develop their own IT products and sell. While Service based IT companies provide service to the customers. Both the kind of companies require a strong sales team to sell their product/service to the clients.

What is the Job Role?

The job role requires the candidate to understand the product/service of the company thoroughly. A typical candidate is required to then approach potential clients to sell the product/service. The candidate is expected to understand the complete sales cycle, right from identifying potential clients, to cold calling/meeting them and finally closing the deal.

Some big companies break this Job role into three profiles and hire specialist for each of them 1) Pre-Sales 2) Sales 3) Account Management. Service companies are known to do this breakup, as the service delivery is an ongoing process, hence Pre-Sales & Sales are handled by a different team/person and Account Management is done by another person/team. Product companies usually have the same team/person handle all these functions, but again it depends on the organizational structure and the business requirement of the company.

Pre-Sales:- Candidates in this job role work closely with the Sales team. The sales team relies on the Pre-Sales team to help with proposal development, Bid Management etc. Pre-Sales team also works closely with the product/service team and keeps itself updated with the changes in technology and business environment.

Sales:- The primary job of a person is to get more clients for the company. A sales person does various jobs such as identifying potential clients, approach them for business, submit proposal, deal negotiation and closure of the deal. A sales person is usually given revenue targets for every month/quarter & year.

Account Management:- So once the deal is closed with the client, the client expects his product/service to be delivered as per the agreement. This responsibility is with the Account Manager. Account Manager is the link between the development/service team and the client.

Some big companies have specialized Sales team for each vertical. Sometimes the sales team is also allocated as per different geographies. It depends again on the organizational structure and business requirement. Mid level or small companies do not have such differentiation.

What are the required Skills for this Job Role?

An MBA is not necessary for this job role, but it gives you an edge if you are starting at a fresher level. If you are already an experienced sales professional then MBA may not be required. Also you need to understand technology. A graduate degree in IT always helps in this job role. A candidate is expected to have an analytical mind, a working knowledge of different industries and a presentable attitude. Besides this a fluency in English and a pleasant personality are considered as basic hygiene in this profile.

What are the perks in this Job Role?

Like any other industry, in IT too sales the function that keeps the company going. IT companies pay well to the sales professionals. Also the pay structures usually consist of fixed pay and variable pay. Fixed pay is the fixed income and the variable pay usually is the commission a sales person earns on the revenues he has achieved for the given time period. Apart from this, there are always opportunities to travel. Since in India the IT companies are still dependent on the clients from the west, this job role provides ample opportunity for candidates to travel. Some companies who have offices in other countries also post the candidates there for a longer term.

In the end, the sales role in IT does provide you ample opportunities for personal and career growth.

Jitu has done his MBA in Marketing, and is currently pursuing his dreams at Mantras2Success. He loves reading business & management related books, watching documentaries and listening music. Apart from being a marketer he also has a deep interest in Human Resources Management and is committed to helping individuals in making an informed choice about their careers. You can follow him on Twitter : @Jitu_Lakhwani

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